Establishing a Daily Practice: Discovering Buddhism (part 4)

0:00 Ricardo was kind of overwhelmed by everything, that I would just kind of guide you through the way I would do this meditation, but let you just relax and do it, so I'll just guide you through. That sounds quieter. Are you here? Yeah. I thought Ben was coming up to do something. I'm like... He had that look of determination in his eyes as he left his... Decision making. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:33 I know, yeah, it's much easier to fall asleep in a chair, I think. Okay, so that's what I'm going to do. So I'm going to guide you through the meditation that you worked on last week, or at least peeked out last week, and maybe looked at once last week. And I'll guide you through, and then this will actually be your same assignment this week. So it's not like you have to learn anything new, you're just going to do it again. Report an error in the passage at 0:33 Highlight the passage at 0:33

0:57 So we just start again with checking your posture. Most important aspect is your spine. Being extended straight. I think a really important aspect is also having my shoulders back slightly. They tend to curl down and kind of, that's when your body reflects your mind, your mind starts going down. So as long as your spine is extended and your shoulders back slightly, then it feels like it contributes a lot to your awareness, your liveliness of mind. Report an error in the passage at 0:57 Highlight the passage at 0:57

1:50 And you just take some nice deep cleansing breaths. Report an error in the passage at 1:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50

1:56 Maybe think about breathing in clean, clear, white light and breathing out sluggishness, sleepy mind, tired mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:56 Highlight the passage at 1:56

2:21 Allow your mind to get energized and inspired again. Report an error in the passage at 2:21 Highlight the passage at 2:21

2:35 And we can think about our motivation, Report an error in the passage at 2:35 Highlight the passage at 2:35

2:41 about the one that we've been cultivating for a while. Just our wish to be helpful to others and Report an error in the passage at 2:41 Highlight the passage at 2:41

2:57 our own desire for happiness and knowing that everyone around us also wants that happiness. And wanting to help them get a lasting happiness. Report an error in the passage at 2:57 Highlight the passage at 2:57

3:16 Imagine in this space all around you, beginning with your parents of this life or those who raised you, Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:29 encircling you in all directions, all living beings. And imagine that you're doing this meditation and this class for them. Report an error in the passage at 3:29 Highlight the passage at 3:29

3:51 So we'll begin with going for refuge. And so imagine either all of your teachers of this life or... One teacher, one special teacher coming to the space right in front of you and then merging together and taking on the aspect of Shakyamuni Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 3:51 Highlight the passage at 3:51

4:19 Try to feel that Shakyamuni Buddha is really here as much as you can, even if it's just an awareness of this dazzling light and positive energy. Report an error in the passage at 4:19 Highlight the passage at 4:19

4:49 So we generate this mind of refuge by remembering what it is that we fear, which is our suffering. The suffering from life to life to life. Report an error in the passage at 4:49 Highlight the passage at 4:49

5:05 And then also remembering faith. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:12 We look at all the enlightened beings and the teachings and allow ourselves to generate this mind of trust, Report an error in the passage at 5:12 Highlight the passage at 5:12

5:24 entrusting ourselves to these holy beings. By understanding that they have taken this path before, they know the way. It's like entrusting yourself to a guide who's done this route before. Report an error in the passage at 5:24 Highlight the passage at 5:24

5:50 And also think about the suffering of all the beings around you and take on this responsibility to... Develop your own mind and capacity for them. Report an error in the passage at 5:50 Highlight the passage at 5:50

6:22 Do you want to sit down here? Yeah, it might be more comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 6:22 Highlight the passage at 6:22

6:27 So imagine some of the beings around you are finding other seats really quick. Report an error in the passage at 6:27 Highlight the passage at 6:27

6:36 So now we're going to do the seven limb practice. So you think of a quality within Chakimuni Buddha that you yourself want to develop. And you might think about one thing that we were talking about on Tuesday was when you reach full enlightenment. You have this capacity that without any thought or effort, you can manifest in whatever form is necessary for any being on the planet simultaneously. Report an error in the passage at 6:36 Highlight the passage at 6:36

7:07 It's an amazing quality. Without thinking about it, with any forethought, without any conception whatsoever, it's simply an energetic thing through karma. You show up and you can be whatever form is most going to benefit that sentient being's mind at that moment. So maybe bow down in your mind to that quality, because we have the potential to attain that quality. Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:46 Prostration. And then offerings, so you offer up to that quality, just like we were doing with the water bowls. Imagine skies filled with whatever kind of offerings you most want to give. If you've ever seen the lights at Bogaya Stupa or the lights at Bodhana Stupa, just filling the night with all of this light. Report an error in the passage at 7:46 Highlight the passage at 7:46

8:13 There are all of these bowls of saffron water or flowers filling the skies like rain and offer that up for that quality. Report an error in the passage at 8:13 Highlight the passage at 8:13

8:44 Confession. So you just think about one thing you've done in the last day or two that can be very tiny. It doesn't have to be enormous. Just something you regret. Maybe you were impatient. Maybe you were selfish. Report an error in the passage at 8:44 Highlight the passage at 8:44

9:07 It doesn't have to be really big. Report an error in the passage at 9:07 Highlight the passage at 9:07

9:15 And usually you don't have to look too hard. Report an error in the passage at 9:15 Highlight the passage at 9:15

9:20 Or maybe we were just lazy during our practice this morning or something. And just feel regret. Regret is different than guilt. Regret is intelligent regret, understanding that karma works in the way that when I do any kind of negative action, I get a karmic result of suffering. And so it's kind of like understanding that you've just done it again. And we don't want to suffer anymore. We're tired of suffering. Report an error in the passage at 9:20 Highlight the passage at 9:20

9:45 We understand how it's caused now. So we have intelligent regret and let it go. Resolve to do better. Report an error in the passage at 9:45 Highlight the passage at 9:45

10:03 And then rejoice. Report an error in the passage at 10:03 Highlight the passage at 10:03

10:07 You can just take a moment to really feel happy about something that you've done or something somebody else has done. But I think it's really good if it's something that we've done. And it can be something really tiny also. Maybe you came to class tonight and you were really tired and you didn't feel like it. Report an error in the passage at 10:07 Highlight the passage at 10:07

10:37 Or maybe you were just kind to somebody today. Or maybe you were patient today. Just whatever it is, just feel incredibly happy from the depth of your heart. We Report an error in the passage at 10:37 Highlight the passage at 10:37

11:03 want to request our teachers to stay in this life, in the world, and teach us whatever way we most need. And Report an error in the passage at 11:03 Highlight the passage at 11:03

11:16 then you always have to be ready for it, because it can show up when you're least expecting it. Report an error in the passage at 11:16 Highlight the passage at 11:16

11:24 And then we ask them to stay, to Report an error in the passage at 11:24 Highlight the passage at 11:24

11:31 stay in our lives, from life to life, to teach us. Report an error in the passage at 11:31 Highlight the passage at 11:31

11:44 Then we dedicate the energy from this little prayer to our own enlightenment and the enlightenment of every being. That surrounds us. Report an error in the passage at 11:44 Highlight the passage at 11:44

12:05 So you're still imagining Shakyamuni Buddha in front of you and now you're making a heartfelt request to Shakyamuni Buddha to bless your mind, to eliminate all your negative minds and obstacles and to help you generate all the realizations that you need to help others. Report an error in the passage at 12:05 Highlight the passage at 12:05

12:24 Especially this realization of our precious human rebirth. Report an error in the passage at 12:24 Highlight the passage at 12:24

12:37 And imagine that Shakyamuni Buddha is very, very pleased and that he comes to the crown of your head. And that he stays there to bless you for the entire meditation. Report an error in the passage at 12:37 Highlight the passage at 12:37

12:57 So I'll begin the Lamrim prayer and you just reflect. And think about these verses like they're additional requests to Shakyamuni Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 12:57 Highlight the passage at 12:57

13:09 And imagine that every time I recite a verse that you receive white nectar that purifies everything that blocks your mind from generating the realization. Report an error in the passage at 13:09 Highlight the passage at 13:09

13:22 And then golden light. The foundation of Report an error in the passage at 13:22 Highlight the passage at 13:22

13:35 all good qualities is the kind and venerable Guru. Correct devotion to him is the root of the path. By clearly seeing this and applying great effort, please bless me to rely upon him with great respect. Report an error in the passage at 13:35 Highlight the passage at 13:35

13:56 Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once is greatly meaningful. And it's difficult to find again. Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly day and night takes its essence. Report an error in the passage at 13:56 Highlight the passage at 13:56

14:20 So here we stop and we think about the situation we're in now. Report an error in the passage at 14:20 Highlight the passage at 14:20

14:27 We have a human life. You have intelligence. Report an error in the passage at 14:27 Highlight the passage at 14:27

14:36 You have strength in your body. And Report an error in the passage at 14:36 Highlight the passage at 14:36

14:43 you have some inclination for spiritual practice. Report an error in the passage at 14:43 Highlight the passage at 14:43

14:50 Not just interest. Not a passing interest. It's not a hobby. But some... Thought to actually put it into practice. Report an error in the passage at 14:50 Highlight the passage at 14:50

15:05 And you're free from being involved in any of the extreme negative crimes like any of the five heinous, what they call the five heinous crimes. We haven't killed our parents, we haven't killed an arhat and so forth. We aren't involved in gang activities or living in lands where corruption is normal. Report an error in the passage at 15:05 Highlight the passage at 15:05

15:31 We're free of all that. And Report an error in the passage at 15:31 Highlight the passage at 15:31

15:38 we live in a place and a time where the Buddhist teachings... Are still around. They're still existing in the world. Report an error in the passage at 15:38 Highlight the passage at 15:38

15:52 Because there will be times when it will be like the dark ages and they won't be. Report an error in the passage at 15:52 Highlight the passage at 15:52

16:01 And not only do they exist here, but people are still gaining direct experience from them. There are people now meditating for years and years, actually gaining realizations, coming out, teaching us. It's still happening. It's happening still in Tibet and it's actually happening in India, Nepal. It's happening here in America. Report an error in the passage at 16:01 Highlight the passage at 16:01

16:31 There are still places to go and receive authentic teachings from authentic masters like Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe La, Chodin Rinpoche. Report an error in the passage at 16:31 Highlight the passage at 16:31

16:49 There are still people who support the teachings in Dharma centers. Report an error in the passage at 16:49 Highlight the passage at 16:49

16:58 There are still people who take up the ordained life and devote their lives to spiritual practice. Report an error in the passage at 16:58 Highlight the passage at 16:58

17:11 So just recognize all these blessings that we have. These are called the richnesses. Report an error in the passage at 17:11 Highlight the passage at 17:11

17:21 If you really think about this, There's nothing to stop us from gaining liberation. There's nothing standing in our way. It's only a matter of making the effort. Report an error in the passage at 17:21 Highlight the passage at 17:21

17:47 If we stop and think about it, even just the human beings in this world, over six billion in all the different countries and circumstances in which they live, out of all these people, how many of them even live in a place where they can meet the Dharma or hear words like enlightenment and liberation? Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

18:21 Even those countries where Dharma is still around, it's just in small pockets. In Report an error in the passage at 18:21 Highlight the passage at 18:21

18:33 a city like this, or even in the Bay Area, we might have a few Dharma centers. But in terms of the entire population of the city, how many people would even visit once a Dharma center? Report an error in the passage at 18:33 Highlight the passage at 18:33

18:47 Much less stay, learn, practice. And Report an error in the passage at 18:47 Highlight the passage at 18:47

19:01 in countries where Buddhism once thrived, like in India, it's a tiny percentage of the whole population that are interested in it now. Report an error in the passage at 19:01 Highlight the passage at 19:01

19:20 And even in so-called Buddhist countries, many of the teachings have degenerated. It's difficult to find true practitioners. Report an error in the passage at 19:20 Highlight the passage at 19:20

19:43 There's not a place, not one country on this whole planet where you can go and find pure Dharma everywhere. Report an error in the passage at 19:43 Highlight the passage at 19:43

19:57 Of all the people in those places where the Dharma can be found, how many ever even hear the teachings? And of those, how many have the interest to practice? And Report an error in the passage at 19:57 Highlight the passage at 19:57

20:12 of those with interest, how many have the time and freedom to pursue that interest? Report an error in the passage at 20:12 Highlight the passage at 20:12

20:22 And of those with the time, how many have found a teacher with the qualities that they want? Report an error in the passage at 20:22 Highlight the passage at 20:22

20:31 And of those who have met their teachers, how many have recognized it? Report an error in the passage at 20:31 Highlight the passage at 20:31

20:40 And of those who have had all these things, how many are actually pursuing and practicing them? Report an error in the passage at 20:40 Highlight the passage at 20:40

20:56 How many are actually devoting their lives to liberation or enlightenment? Report an error in the passage at 20:56 Highlight the passage at 20:56

21:08 Even in this city, where so much is available, how many have actually settled down to do the work? Report an error in the passage at 21:08 Highlight the passage at 21:08

21:22 The situation that we're in is extremely rare. It's not even common in this world to even think like this. Report an error in the passage at 21:22 Highlight the passage at 21:22

21:35 So what am I going to do with this? What's Report an error in the passage at 21:35 Highlight the passage at 21:35

21:41 possible to achieve with my life? Report an error in the passage at 21:41 Highlight the passage at 21:41

21:51 Many people have some kind of deep-seated aspiration or idea that something else is possible, but they haven't met the method. Report an error in the passage at 21:51 Highlight the passage at 21:51

22:02 But I've met the method. So what am I going to do with this? Report an error in the passage at 22:02 Highlight the passage at 22:02

22:14 People all around me are suffering from sickness, old age, dissatisfied mind, mental and physical disease and death. All the time. I've Report an error in the passage at 22:14 Highlight the passage at 22:14

22:33 come into contact with teachings that tell me they can actually stop all of these sufferings forever if applied consistently and wholeheartedly. Report an error in the passage at 22:33 Highlight the passage at 22:33

22:48 How can I not try to pursue them? Report an error in the passage at 22:48 Highlight the passage at 22:48

22:55 If there was some opportunity to stop the death of all living beings, to stop war, famine, disease, and I were not even to try, how unfortunate that would be. Report an error in the passage at 22:55 Highlight the passage at 22:55

23:18 How incredibly lucky I am. Report an error in the passage at 23:18 Highlight the passage at 23:18

23:23 It's said in the teachings that a precious human rebirth comes about only with causes. Report an error in the passage at 23:23 Highlight the passage at 23:23

23:33 Having practiced generosity, morality, patience and especially making prayers. Report an error in the passage at 23:33 Highlight the passage at 23:33

23:44 I prayed to receive this life. I Report an error in the passage at 23:44 Highlight the passage at 23:44

23:51 prayed to have this opportunity. Report an error in the passage at 23:51 Highlight the passage at 23:51

23:58 I prayed to have this view. Report an error in the passage at 23:58 Highlight the passage at 23:58

24:05 I prayed to meet these teachings. Report an error in the passage at 24:05 Highlight the passage at 24:05

24:14 I prayed to perfect my mind. Report an error in the passage at 24:14 Highlight the passage at 24:14

24:22 Now all the causes and conditions have come together. Report an error in the passage at 24:22 Highlight the passage at 24:22

24:28 In this life my prayers have been answered. Report an error in the passage at 24:28 Highlight the passage at 24:28

24:34 What am I going to do with it? Report an error in the passage at 24:34 Highlight the passage at 24:34

24:44 I prayed to be able to help all these beings now surrounding me and I got this chance. So what am I going to do with it? Report an error in the passage at 24:44 Highlight the passage at 24:44

25:04 So ask Shakyamuni Buddha from the depths of your heart to please bless you to recognize this precious opportunity and to use it to the best of your abilities. Report an error in the passage at 25:04 Highlight the passage at 25:04

25:20 How amazingly lucky we are. Report an error in the passage at 25:20 Highlight the passage at 25:20

25:31 I'll continue with the prayer and just to remember To receive each verse like a blessing. First white light purifies you of all the obstacles in your path and then golden light fills you up with all the blessings and the actual realization of precious human rebirth. Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

25:55 Understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once is greatly meaningful and difficult to find again. Please bless me to generate the mind that unceasingly Day and night takes its essence. Report an error in the passage at 25:55 Highlight the passage at 25:55

26:16 This life is as impermanent as a water bubble. Remember how quickly it decays and death comes. After death, just like a shadow follows the body, the results of black and white karma follow. Report an error in the passage at 26:16 Highlight the passage at 26:16

26:36 Finding firm and definite conviction in this, please bless me always to be careful, to abandon even the slightest negativities and accomplish all virtuous deeds. Report an error in the passage at 26:36 Highlight the passage at 26:36

26:57 Seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to all suffering. They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, please bless me to generate a strong wish for the bliss of liberation. Report an error in the passage at 26:57 Highlight the passage at 26:57

27:21 Led by this pure thought, mindfulness, alertness and great caution arise. The root of the teachings is keeping the Pratimoksha bells. Please bless me to accomplish this essential practice. Report an error in the passage at 27:21 Highlight the passage at 27:21

27:44 Just as I have fallen into the sea of saṃsāra, so have all mother migratory beings. Bless me to see this, train in supreme bodhicitta and bear the responsibility of freeing migratory beings. Report an error in the passage at 27:44 Highlight the passage at 27:44

28:09 Even if I develop only bodhicitta without practicing the three types of morality, I will not achieve enlightenment. With my clear recognition of this, please bless me to practice the bodhisattva vows with great energy. Report an error in the passage at 28:09 Highlight the passage at 28:09

28:34 Once I have pacified distractions to wrong objects and correctly analyzing the meaning of reality, please bless me to generate quickly within my mind's dream the unified path of calm abiding and special insight. Report an error in the passage at 28:34 Highlight the passage at 28:34

28:57 Having become a pure vessel by training in the general path, please bless me to enter the holy gateway of the fortunate ones, the supreme Vajra vehicle. Report an error in the passage at 28:57 Highlight the passage at 28:57

29:16 At that time, the basis of accomplishing the two attainments, keeping pure vowels in Samaya. I have become firmly convinced of this, please bless me to protect these vows and pledges like my life. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:39 having realized the importance of the two stages, the essence of the Vajrayana, by practicing with great energy, never giving up the four sessions, please bless me to realize the teachings of the Holy Guru. Report an error in the passage at 29:39 Highlight the passage at 29:39

29:59 Like that, may the gurus who show the noble path... And the spiritual friends who practice it have long lives. Please bless me to pacify completely all outer and inner hindrances. Report an error in the passage at 29:59 Highlight the passage at 29:59

30:20 In all my lives, never separated from perfect gurus, may I enjoy the magnificent Dharma. By completing the qualities of the stages and paths, may I quickly attain the state of Ajadara. And Report an error in the passage at 30:20 Highlight the passage at 30:20

30:39 then imagine yourself kneeling and make this request. Glorious and precious root guru, please abide on the lotus and moon seat on my crown. Report an error in the passage at 30:39 Highlight the passage at 30:39

30:50 And taking care of me with your great kindness, bestow on me the attainments of your body, speech and mind. Report an error in the passage at 30:50 Highlight the passage at 30:50

31:02 And then imagine that Shakyamuni Buddha is extremely pleased with your effort and promises to remind you of your precious human rebirth and help you take advantage of this. Report an error in the passage at 31:02 Highlight the passage at 31:02

31:20 Then he melts into a stream of golden light and descends to your heart through the crown of your head and he becomes inseparably mixed with your own mind. Report an error in the passage at 31:20 Highlight the passage at 31:20

31:40 Your body, speech and mind are pervaded by this golden light and all of its potential. Report an error in the passage at 31:40 Highlight the passage at 31:40

31:55 And imagine that you're completely transformed into a being made of pure golden light, abiding in this world solely for the purpose of benefiting others. Report an error in the passage at 31:55 Highlight the passage at 31:55

32:09 This is your true potential. Report an error in the passage at 32:09 Highlight the passage at 32:09

32:16 Imagine what this would actually feel like. You Report an error in the passage at 32:16 Highlight the passage at 32:16

32:40 can open your eyes and we'll do the opening prayer. Report an error in the passage at 32:40 Highlight the passage at 32:40

32:56 It's the Prayers of Aspiration section, page 18 of that section. Report an error in the passage at 32:56 Highlight the passage at 32:56

33:04 Prayer to Generate Bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 33:04 Highlight the passage at 33:04

33:11 With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment inspired by wisdom and compassion. Today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain. Report an error in the passage at 33:11 Highlight the passage at 33:11

33:38 Until then, may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings. Report an error in the passage at 33:38 Highlight the passage at 33:38

34:05 As long as space remains. As long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. With the wish to free all beings, I shall always go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha until I reach full enlightenment. Inspired by wisdom and compassion, today in the Buddha's presence, I generate the mind of full awakening. Report an error in the passage at 34:05 Highlight the passage at 34:05

34:34 For the benefit of all sentient beings, as long as space remains, as long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world. Report an error in the passage at 34:34 Highlight the passage at 34:34

34:56 that's how you fit it all together. It was exactly a half hour. Just keeping an eye on it. that's doing it all, so you might. Report an error in the passage at 34:56 Highlight the passage at 34:56

35:10 on one point for each part or you might just spend more time on the seven limb prayer like that. Report an error in the passage at 35:10 Highlight the passage at 35:10

35:23 So I wanted to make a couple of announcements. The homework is going to be the same meditation that you guys worked with last week. So I don't have another sheet. And Eve, I sent you, I sent the email. Yeah, so you have last week's and the first. It was the first three homeworks and the first and third notes. Report an error in the passage at 35:23 Highlight the passage at 35:23

35:45 And I also sent you the syllabus because I wasn't sure if you had that. So, okay. You have the reading? Did you get a binder? Okay. So that's what changes. This week you'll have readings four and six. We'll skip five this time. Five is a long one. So four and six will be your readings. Next time will be five. Report an error in the passage at 35:45 Highlight the passage at 35:45

36:11 And I'm not giving you anything that says that, so that's what I'm telling you. Report an error in the passage at 36:11 Highlight the passage at 36:11

36:21 Sorry, I started feeling like I'm getting a sore throat today. I am annoyingly sucking on a lozenge. That is indeed what you hear. Report an error in the passage at 36:21 Highlight the passage at 36:21

36:32 I wanted to remind people, I'm just bringing it up every time until it happens, that Geshe-la is offering refuge on Sunday. Not this coming Sunday, but Sunday the 22nd. Report an error in the passage at 36:32 Highlight the passage at 36:32

36:43 And Leval's. And so I put it into the Enu, so there's probably going to be some more people there, but for sure we have three people from the refuge class that are doing that, so that's pretty cool. So even if you aren't ready, but you'd like to just lend support to people that are taking this step in their path, it's a really good thing to do, to go and just welcome them into the, they consider refuge is considered the gateway. Report an error in the passage at 36:43 Highlight the passage at 36:43

37:09 So it's like it's, I always really enjoy it. It always like brings tears to my eyes. Malum usually starts crying, so just to warn you. He does that for Bodhisattva Vaz too, every time. Doesn't fail. Report an error in the passage at 37:09 Highlight the passage at 37:09

37:27 Sorry, I didn't get it down. The 29th, so the following Sunday after that, so two weeks from this Sunday, Venerable Children is going to be leading a session on how to do prostrations to the 35 Buddhas. And then I think she will actually save some time to do prostrations. And she's also just going to teach about the practice. And then... Report an error in the passage at 37:27 Highlight the passage at 37:27

37:52 Venmo Tsongmo on the 19th of November will lead just a whole session of prostrations to the 35 Buddhas. So hers will be more practice oriented. I think they both will actually have time for prostrations. The first one is the 29th of October. The second one is the 19th of November. Report an error in the passage at 37:52 Highlight the passage at 37:52

38:17 Geshe-la is also giving a detailed teaching on the... Practice of going for refuge and offering the seven limb prayer in terms of those six preparatory practices that we talked about in this class. He'll give a detailed teaching on those on Sunday the 17th of December when he gets back from India. Report an error in the passage at 38:17 Highlight the passage at 38:17

38:38 And the practice day for this class will be November 4th. We decided to go for that one because that one seemed to have the most people who could do it. And we're combining it with the refuge class. Report an error in the passage at 38:38 Highlight the passage at 38:38

38:54 So do we have any other questions? Otherwise I'll get started on what I wanted to present tonight. Sarah almost came. Actually, Sarah Hobbs almost came tonight. I was trying to get her to come. She said she ran into you, Trader Joe's. So it touched it. She started to come and then she's not here. Yeah, I was trying to get her to come. Sarah was in a couple of other Discovering Buddhism classes. Actually, she started out in impermanence the very first week she got evicted. Report an error in the passage at 38:54 Highlight the passage at 38:54

39:24 Talk about impermanence. So her place in Pacifica, she found another place. She's a massage therapist. So, you know, life happens. People kind of pull away and then come back again. But I thought she might come tonight. Grace, I don't know. I got an email from her after she had her surgery, so I don't know. She was? Oh, at Lama Zopa's? Report an error in the passage at 39:24 Highlight the passage at 39:24

39:48 Oh, wonderful. That's good to hear. That makes my night. Thank you. That's really good to hear. So tonight we're going to talk about... Last time, the last two times, actually we've talked a lot about structuring how to do your sessions. You know, how do you lead up to a session and what do you do in a session? Report an error in the passage at 39:48 Highlight the passage at 39:48

40:07 So now I'm going to talk about what you do with the other 23 and a half hours of your day. They call it, in the Tibetan tradition, it's called post-meditation. There's meditation and there's post-meditation. Post-meditation is the bulk of our lives. So how do we bring meaning to the rest of our lives? So we're going to talk about that tonight. Report an error in the passage at 40:07 Highlight the passage at 40:07

40:30 It's annoying to have this thing in my mouth. It seemed like a good idea when I put it in there. Anyway, so if in Tibetan gom, which is why this is called a gompa, meditation means to familiarize. Report an error in the passage at 40:30 Highlight the passage at 40:30

40:46 So if we're becoming familiar with something when we sit down and we meditate on it, like precious human rebirth, how precious our opportunity is right now, everything we have going for us right now. Then we get up off the cushion. What are we doing with our minds the rest of the time? So a lot of our goal in our post-meditation session is protecting our mind, is really thinking about the fact that whatever we put into our mind has some effect on it, and that our mind is like a huge sponge. Report an error in the passage at 40:46 Highlight the passage at 40:46

41:22 So just like we might have to think about, especially once we reach a certain age, That we can't put everything into our body that we want to put into our body. It's sort of the same thing with our mind. We start figuring out that maybe shoving every single thing that the mind is attracted to into it isn't necessarily the best thing for it if we're really trying to cultivate a practice. Report an error in the passage at 41:22 Highlight the passage at 41:22

41:49 um um Certain things like one of my personal favorites is People Magazine. People Magazine is my version of TV because I don't have a TV and I don't watch TV. It's easier to turn off, I find. It always is much easier than TV. TV stays in my mind because it's got music and things. It's both visual and auditory. Report an error in the passage at 41:49 Highlight the passage at 41:49

42:19 People magazine, even if you were singing while you read it, which seems unlikely, it's like, oh, I don't really want to read that. Then I can turn it. Report an error in the passage at 42:19 Highlight the passage at 42:19

42:31 So you just want to think about the fact that some of these things like magazines, newspapers, movies, TV, radio, that we are constantly putting into our minds might be actually feeding... you know, Report an error in the passage at 42:31 Highlight the passage at 42:31

42:47 You know, desire or anger or some of these diluted states of mind that we actually want to be starting to reduce. So instead of it actually, you know, instead of being able to lessen those states of mind, we're actually reading things or watching things, constantly feeding our mind with something that's going to inflame it like more and more. Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

43:12 And also if it doesn't do that, it may be contributing to a worldview that's completely opposed, which is like 99 % of what we watch or think about or read is a worldview that's completely different from the Buddhist worldview. Report an error in the passage at 43:12 Highlight the passage at 43:12

43:30 A lot of news programs and newspapers and magazines and things like that are constantly blaming. They're always looking outside, you know, what's caused this problem, who can we blame, and even if they're reporting on, like an individual, that person is looking for somebody to blame, you know, for their problems. Report an error in the passage at 43:30 Highlight the passage at 43:30

43:51 They're suing because they fell in front of the city hall, or they're, you know, the family was involved in an accident, and so they're suing the hospital because, you know, the kid's leg. Report an error in the passage at 43:51 Highlight the passage at 43:51

44:04 It's always an external source of the problem and that problem needs to be found and rooted out. There's always the talking head politician who's promising to get to the bottom of this right away. Report an error in the passage at 44:04 Highlight the passage at 44:04

44:19 It's a completely different world view than we're learning about the Buddha observing. So it's actually setting us... In a complete opposition from the way that most of society is going, which is our current situation. If we are deciding that the Buddhist path is our path, it's almost like we're swimming upstream. Report an error in the passage at 44:19 Highlight the passage at 44:19

44:46 We're going in a different way than the rest of the culture is going. It's a little bit crazy, actually, which isn't a bad thing. Especially for those of us who have always been a little bit crazy compared to what the rest of the country is doing. But there are a lot of voices that are out there that aren't necessarily empowering what it is that we're trying to do. Report an error in the passage at 44:46 Highlight the passage at 44:46

45:09 And so you're starting to, what I'm trying to do is to get you guys to be thinking about that and not necessarily just following your mind the second you get up. Into areas that are just going to disempower what you've just tried to do by creating a really good meditation session or practice session. So even here, I mean, even working in a Dharma community, we're so programmed to think that the problem is outside of us. Report an error in the passage at 45:09 Highlight the passage at 45:09

45:38 So if you get into a discussion with somebody, it's always like, you know, everything would be great if so-and-so, you know, didn't do that or so-and-so wasn't here. It's really rare for us to actually remember. Oh yeah, it's my mind. We've got to work on here. I've got to work on my mind. We still see it that way. We're just programmed. So I'm just trying to feed in that this is surrounding you the second you walk outside the door, get up off your cushion. Report an error in the passage at 45:38 Highlight the passage at 45:38

46:10 So one idea to do, there's an idea that's called training in verses. It actually comes from the Seven Point Mind training. Report an error in the passage at 46:10 Highlight the passage at 46:10

46:20 There's a verse that actually says, in your everyday life, train yourself with verses to stimulate remembrance. And so there's a lot of ways to do this. Memorizing is the best, but our minds aren't as well trained to memorize as Tibetan minds. It doesn't mean it's impossible. I'm actually amazed with what I have managed to memorize in my life because I always think I have no retention whatsoever. Report an error in the passage at 46:20 Highlight the passage at 46:20

46:44 And then, like, you really can do it. I think we just sell ourselves short and we think we can't do it. Especially if you go for a short one, like maybe not the King of Prayers right away, but you can work on it. And they're right, actually, walking with something when you're memorizing works better. Report an error in the passage at 46:44 Highlight the passage at 46:44

47:00 So if you have it, whatever it is you're trying to memorize and you're walking, it actually makes it easier. Something about the movement of your body and your mind, it going into your mind is a good idea. You look a little weird, but we already made it clear we're already swimming upstream here, so that's okay. Report an error in the passage at 47:00 Highlight the passage at 47:00

47:17 But you can also just like write down little verses. You can put them on post-its around your house. You can put them in your car. You can put them on your desk at work or your work desk in your home for those of us who work at home. Report an error in the passage at 47:17 Highlight the passage at 47:17

47:34 Basically what you're trying to do is your little tiny Dharma whisper or your Dharma muscle is kind of working against this enormously loud roar. That's everywhere else in your life. And so you want to sort of amplify that little Dharma whisper so you can kind of remember. Even if you don't remember to actually follow the advice, it'll remind you. Report an error in the passage at 47:34 Highlight the passage at 47:34

47:55 It'll remind you what you could have done in that situation or what you might do the next time, even if you don't actually remember to do it. So little verses is actually really, really helpful. I do that a lot actually in retreat. I'll start out the retreat and I'll bring sort of my favorite expressions that kind of make me wake up. Report an error in the passage at 47:55 Highlight the passage at 47:55

48:15 And I'll just put them everywhere. I'll put them over light switches. I'll put them often because I forget tape. So that's like where you can put it. You can even put it in the bathroom, you know, if it's not Dharma. If it's just like your own phrase. You know, sometimes it's your own phrase. It doesn't have to be a piece of scripture. It doesn't have to be. Report an error in the passage at 48:15 Highlight the passage at 48:15

48:33 It can be the words of your teachers. They might phrase things in a certain way. Kendall actually is the one who said that one line that I used a couple of times. What am I going to do with it? What am I going to do with it? It came to her when she was meditating on precious human rebirth. And it just, when she sees that phrase, it triggers that memory. Report an error in the passage at 48:33 Highlight the passage at 48:33

48:55 So you might have that experience sometime when you're meditating some phrase. Phrase pops out at you, and that could be the one, especially if you're, say you're working on Precious Human Rebirth, and you've been meditating on it, you've decided to meditate on it for a couple of weeks or a couple of months. Report an error in the passage at 48:55 Highlight the passage at 48:55

49:11 All of your phrases could relate to that. could try to bring that up in your mind all the time. So you want to figure out ways that's going to keep it in your mind a lot. Just have a really good session and then go out and read People's magazine. And just forget everything that you just spent time doing. Report an error in the passage at 49:11 Highlight the passage at 49:11

49:38 Another one that Rinpoche has suggested is, his are kind of wordy, but what is appearing is merely a manifestation of imprints of my mind. I created this. I created this. So you could actually just be saying over and over in your mind, I created this. I created this. I mean, the rest of the world is screaming, you know, I'm real, I'm real, I'm real. And you're thinking, wait a second, my karma created this. Report an error in the passage at 49:38 Highlight the passage at 49:38

50:09 There's nobody else out there I can blame. One of my favorites is there's a set of verses that's called the Eight Verses that, it's the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation by Langri Thangpa that I use as the basis for the transforming problems. Discovering Buddhism course, which is the one I'm going to be teaching in January. And the third verse is particularly, it just comes up in my mind all the time. Report an error in the passage at 50:09 Highlight the passage at 50:09

50:39 In all actions I will examine my mind and the moment a disturbing attitude arises, endangering myself and others, I will firmly confront and avert it. Such a powerful verse. Have you just spent your entire life with that one verse? Report an error in the passage at 50:39 Highlight the passage at 50:39

50:57 It could be amazing. It could just completely transform your life. Basically, it implies that you are examining your mind all the time. So that part's the given in the first line of it, before you even get to the action in the other lines. But it's quite powerful. So that's another one, just like you read it and you reread it, you reread it and you reread it, and it begins to go in. Report an error in the passage at 50:57 Highlight the passage at 50:57

51:27 And it'll change. Some verses are really pushing you to your total limit, which I often will pick ones like that and retreat. But then there are times, like right now, with everything that's been happening in my life, I need to be more gentle with myself. And there are times that you need to be gentle with yourself, and that needs to be okay, because we have to start compassion here. Report an error in the passage at 51:27 Highlight the passage at 51:27

51:48 We have to start with ourselves. So you just kind of have to work on... That balance. When am I getting lazy and I need to be pushed and when do I need to ease up and let myself have a break? Because if we push, it's like an instrument. It's like tuning an instrument. If you pull it too tight, it's going to just snap. You don't want to go there. Report an error in the passage at 51:48 Highlight the passage at 51:48

52:12 But you also know your mind more than anybody else. We really do. If we look, we can tell when we're just being lazy and when it's good to push. Report an error in the passage at 52:12 Highlight the passage at 52:12

52:22 Some of the best retreats I've ever done, or jobs really, being the director, were pushing me way beyond what I ever thought I could do. So sometimes you just need to push out of your safety zone. Report an error in the passage at 52:22 Highlight the passage at 52:22

52:41 If you drive, having them in your car is really, really good too. Especially if you're like me and you suddenly become like this... Kind of bizarre monster the second you get behind it and you're like in a really good mood and everything you get into the car and all of a sudden it's like this weird like impatience comes out and somehow like it's okay to call people odd names. Report an error in the passage at 52:41 Highlight the passage at 52:41

53:05 So that might be a really good place to sort of surround your wheel with not just holy images to see as you're crashing but actually things to remember like... You know, they are all my mothers, whatever it is that's going to bring that mind of compassion up. I don't think I used that one. But there are certain words that I only use in a vehicle. It's very odd. Like somehow that's okay. Actually, no, but I know what to indicate. Report an error in the passage at 53:05 Highlight the passage at 53:05

53:36 Starts with Report an error in the passage at 53:36 Highlight the passage at 53:36

53:46 No, I didn't want to say that. It's very weird. Luckily, I don't drive. But, I mean, I don't anymore. I just don't have a car. Report an error in the passage at 53:46 Highlight the passage at 53:46

53:56 The other idea is one that my friend of mine calls putting on your lamrim colored glasses. So if you're meditating on precious human rebirth, then you would put on your precious human rebirth glasses. And everything you see plays into your meditation. So you go to the store and you see, you know, people looking really tired and worn out. You see people fighting about something. Report an error in the passage at 53:56 Highlight the passage at 53:56

54:24 You just, you know. Life happens in grocery stores, right? I mean, I think grocery stores especially. And you see it in a completely different way. You realize, wow, I have this great opportunity. These people don't even know that there's a way out. Look at their sadness, you know? And it's not in any way that you're judging. It's just simply seeing, receiving the data and kind of using it to help you see that a lot of people just don't have hope. Report an error in the passage at 54:24 Highlight the passage at 54:24

54:50 A lot of people don't even realize that there is anything beyond. This sort of suffering day in and day out. So you can use that. You can use looking around like that. Or you can think about the fact that in the death and impermanence class that just ended, we were always doing meditations on just an impermanence alone, that everything is impermanent, even if it looks solid and real and forever, whether it's a table or a person. Report an error in the passage at 54:50 Highlight the passage at 54:50

55:23 many What incidents have we had just this year alone in this center? And Karen's a really good friend. I sent you guys an email. Died yesterday of leukemia. Yeah, another one from that class. We just had a lot of deaths related to the students who were in the death and impermanence class. Report an error in the passage at 55:23 Highlight the passage at 55:23

55:47 A lot of times, I mean, in that case, that person had been quite sick, but, you know, people... Die without any warning. Actually, I had an email from a woman who had just come here a few times and we had talked because we happened to be from the same place in Virginia, which is really bizarre that we both end up being Tibetan Buddhists. Report an error in the passage at 55:47 Highlight the passage at 55:47

56:06 Sorry? Nowhere near Yogava, actually. Fairfax, Virginia. Kind of a suburban D.C. Anyway, she had just gone home this past weekend and her dad dropped dead of a heart attack. No warning. No warning at all. And so I've been, you know, corresponding with her by email about what she can do and things like that for him. Report an error in the passage at 56:06 Highlight the passage at 56:06

56:33 But you can look around, you can walk around and see all the people as they're walking around and just think, wow, all of these people are impermanent. Any of these people could be dying. All of these people are dying. I'm dying too. All the people around, you know, the things on the ground. The trees, the houses, the streets, the bridges, like everything that you see, basically. Your cars, all the cars. You're sitting on the freeway, you get stopped in traffic, you go look around and think, wow, in five years, some of these, probably a huge portion of these cars will either be off the road entirely, or they'll really look a lot more trashy than they do right now. Report an error in the passage at 56:33 Highlight the passage at 56:33

57:14 Ten years, 90 % of them will be gone, because they aren't really made to last, unless they're Volvos. They aren't really made to last anymore. Maybe a couple Toyota pickups, but, you know, I mean, you can use your time standing in line at the bank, standing in the grocery store, waiting in traffic, waiting at the doctor's office. Report an error in the passage at 57:14 Highlight the passage at 57:14

57:35 That's a good one. Seeing all the people waiting. The hospital, Kaiser. You know, looking around. Everybody's got their story. People are all in their own world. They won't even notice that you're looking around at them. And then you can also wear your lamrim colored glasses when you're reading people's magazines and watching the news and watching a movie and let each, it becomes like a teaching. Report an error in the passage at 57:35 Highlight the passage at 57:35

58:02 So you're reading an article about these beautiful people who have everything and are still really dissatisfied. Like they can't find happiness because that isn't something that you can buy. It has to do with whether or not you have the karma to actually meet the teachings in this life. And then finding that karma, do you have the karma to meet good teachers? Report an error in the passage at 58:02 Highlight the passage at 58:02

58:22 And then you have the karma to actually have a center near you. And like all those things that we just kind of went through in the meditation. If you don't have that karma, then you won't be able to put the teachings into practice. You just won't. So you can read those articles about people. I mean, Paris Hilton is a really good example. She has so much money and she's going to a lot of parties. Report an error in the passage at 58:22 Highlight the passage at 58:22

58:53 And I'm not saying that in any negative way. It's almost more tragic to me. It feels like her life just feels really tragic whenever I see her. I just feel really, really sad for her. Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

59:03 Yeah, I mean, how could she not be? I mean, it's almost like it would be a miracle if she wasn't, you know. Actually, it's kind of a miracle that certain people like Drew Barrymore are still standing, actually. Who I adore, actually. Report an error in the passage at 59:03 Highlight the passage at 59:03

59:18 I know, I know. But, I mean, that's certainly not enough. You know, how many people go to rehab over and over. So you're just kind of taking... These moments of everyday life and you're reminding yourself of whatever it is that you're currently working on on your cushion, you know, or reading about or studying or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 59:18 Highlight the passage at 59:18

59:44 And then Rinpoche also makes the suggestion to do walking meditation and it's not the walking meditation that, I don't know if anyone in here has ever gone to a Vipassanā center and done that kind of walking meditation when you have this sort of really exaggerated. You're really thinking about every muscle lifting up the foot and things like that. He does suggest to slow down, so you're not moving Rubina Pace through the walking meditation. Report an error in the passage at 59:44 Highlight the passage at 59:44

1:00:13 But basically, it's sort of like taking your lamrim glasses and you're walking around outside, which we often have to do to get someplace, right? Walking down to Walgreens, walking to catch the bus for work, walking to... You know, wherever it is, even just in your room walking back and forth, you can pace. You don't necessarily have to go. But then you can just pick a topic like death and impermanence and you just look at everything through that lens. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:13 Highlight the passage at 1:00:13

1:00:45 So if you're in your room, there's still plenty of stuff in here that I can look at and think, well, you know, these are such beautiful tankas, but within an instant we could have an earthquake and they'd all be gone. Or fire, we'd have a house fire and all this stuff would be gone like in Rinpoche's offering room. You know, so you can look at stuff in your, whatever is in your field of vision and wear your lamrim glasses. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:45 Highlight the passage at 1:00:45

1:01:10 And that's what he means by walking meditation. One of his favorites again is, this is my karma. Whatever I see, hear, smell, taste or touch, this is my karmic projection. I am creating this. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:10 Highlight the passage at 1:01:10

1:01:24 So you're like walking around and you're thinking that. So you see all the people, all the business people like rushing to work or you see the taxis and it all looks so out there, not related to me at all. And his point is, no, you would not be experiencing this moment if you hadn't created the causes for it. Even if you aren't having, even if you're having a neutral reaction to it. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:24 Highlight the passage at 1:01:24

1:01:45 You know, maybe you're not like thinking, I hate yellow taxis or something, but you're just, it's still in your field of vision, so you have created the cause to actually see it. So you're just reminding yourself of that. And he also does one where he just says, everything is a hallucination. Everything is a hallucination. And that's basically getting into the fact that nothing is, everything appears differently than how it actually exists. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:45 Highlight the passage at 1:01:45

1:02:12 So you're just reminding yourself. So it's like he says, it's almost like LSD. It's almost like you're on an LSD. So you're just walking around thinking everything's a hallucination. And that's totally true of me if you've ever tried that one. There's another one that he says to do, and we did it in the wisdom class, looking for the eye while you're walking. It's described in virtue and reality. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:12 Highlight the passage at 1:02:12

1:02:38 But it's basically you're walking along slowly and you're actually trying to find out where the eye is. Is the eye the one that's walking? Is the eye looking for the eye? Is the eye having the memories? Is the eye worried about reaching the end of the road? Is the eye the one that's concerned that somebody's going to look at them walking on the road and doing this meditation? So you're just kind of looking for the eye, which is a little bit harder because you guys, we haven't all studied that together, but that's another one that you can do. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:38 Highlight the passage at 1:02:38

1:03:10 And it seems to work better when you're walking for some reason. Than it does if you're just sitting there looking for it on your cushion. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:10 Highlight the passage at 1:03:10

1:03:23 Whatever it is that you're doing, what you're kind of trying to do is to break up your everyday reality so that you're looking at it with new eyes. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:23 Highlight the passage at 1:03:23

1:03:36 Another thing in your post-meditation session... And we talked about this for a long time in the karma class, actually not for long enough. And so I was actually going to suggest we could do another pre-class class if people were interested. And that's what's called a self-evaluation practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:36 Highlight the passage at 1:03:36

1:03:57 I'm sorry. This is not a good idea. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:57 Highlight the passage at 1:03:57

1:04:03 Thank you. Yeah, I do, actually. Now our daughter writes it. Anyway, Rinpoche actually describes, he kind of created one version of a self-evaluation practice for the students in the master's program at Lama Tsongkhapa Institute. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:03 Highlight the passage at 1:04:03

1:04:27 Emily was one of them, Emily Tzu, who teaches on Friday nights here. It was a seven-year program and then an extra nine months of retreat afterwards. So it was a long program. So he started being concerned that they were getting a little too academic and not really watching their minds, like there wasn't enough actual practice. So he came up with this tracking system. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:27 Highlight the passage at 1:04:27

1:04:51 And then, of course, it was really interesting to hear about the irritation that was coming up about this tracking system. A lot of people were not really that into it. um um And they were to basically watch the arisal of anger in their mind every day. So they had sort of this assignment. It was a daily assignment. And they were to check the intensity, the duration, and the reason for the anger arising and whether or not they remembered to apply any antidote. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:51 Highlight the passage at 1:04:51

1:05:27 This is a great practice. I've been trying to do this every day. Have you been doing it? Good. Oh, good, good. I actually changed it to like... All kleshas. I changed it to like, because I figure there's a lot of them out there and it's not always anger. So I actually threw in, like I just call it klesh attack. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:27 Highlight the passage at 1:05:27

1:05:44 And then I just have this little, I actually do it in a journal. It's part of like sort of what I do every day. And even if you only remember to write down three or four, hey, that's like a heck of a lot better than letting days go by without even noticing what's in your mind. We should be actually using the talking stick. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:44 Highlight the passage at 1:05:44

1:06:06 Is that so like Geshe Michaels 60? Yeah, I'm getting to that. I'm getting to that. No, this is actually, I actually do both. I do, I track, we'll get to that part, the bows and all. But this is actually just watching your mind for klesias arising. And so it's basically anything, klesia is anything that disturbs the mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:06 Highlight the passage at 1:06:06

1:06:29 So it's also called a mental affliction. Hang on. It's also called a mental affliction or a delusion. They're all synonymous. And it's basically anything that disturbs your mind. So Rinpoche actually described anger as the slightest agitation in the mind. So like the slightest irritation can be described as anger. It doesn't mean you're like throwing the clock at somebody, you know. Hopefully, getting back to that verse, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:29 Highlight the passage at 1:06:29

1:06:58 The moment I see... So it's kind of like we're trying to nip it in the bud. We're trying to get it at the point where it's just beginning to upset our minds. But you're also going to have moments that you're throwing the clock at somebody, you know, or moments that you're kicking the printer, you know, moments that you're like the anger has come up because you just weren't paying attention and it actually got full blown pretty quickly because of karma, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:58 Highlight the passage at 1:06:58

1:07:26 But it doesn't have to be anger. It can also be jealousy. It could also be depression. Self-pity mind. Especially if you're feeling bad, you're sick, you know, it's really easy to get into self-pitying mind. Self-cherishing thought, you know, thinking of number one, you know, grabbing your little piece of birthday pie so nobody else can have it, you know, which I did yesterday and ran upstairs with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:26 Highlight the passage at 1:07:26

1:07:51 My second piece of birthday pie. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:51 Highlight the passage at 1:07:51

1:07:57 It was great. It was a vegan apple pie from Rainbow. It can be any of the clashes that can disturb our mind. He actually suggests also tracking how many times a day you've cherished others versus cherishing yourself, which is a great one. How many times you had respect for others, which is a good one too. Tracking the lay precepts. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:57 Highlight the passage at 1:07:57

1:08:34 And also looking at the ten non-virtuous actions, which we talked a lot about in the karma class, and how close you came. This is where it gets... That's okay. It always just so startles me. It's like, oh no, it's the time lady. She's coming out across the phone. You should train it to be Emily's voice. The English Emily, not Emily. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:34 Highlight the passage at 1:08:34

1:09:04 Emily the low-ring teacher, although she has a very nice voice too. So there's another method that Ben was just referring to that is called the six-time book or the book or when I learned it, it was called the vow book, so that's usually what I call it. But even if you don't have vows, you can start tracking the ten non-virtuous actions and the ten virtuous actions and how close you came. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:04 Highlight the passage at 1:09:04

1:09:34 To keeping them and how close you came to breaking them each day. If you take refuge and you want a way to get to know your refuge precepts, this is a good way. If you have lay vows, that's a good way. And clearly once you get to the bodhisattva vows, especially the bodhisattva vows because there's so many of them, it's a great way to track them. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:34 Highlight the passage at 1:09:34

1:09:55 And the way that one's set up is actually you're stopping like every two or three hours. And choosing a vow and looking at it. I don't really have the time to do this practice justice in this class. So I would like to know if people are interested. I'm very, very happy to meet you next week at like 6 o 'clock before class and kind of give you a short version of it. But with more space and time for questions and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:55 Highlight the passage at 1:09:55

1:10:23 So I don't know if anyone is interested. Is anyone interested in learning this practice? You learned it already. I thought you were already doing it. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:23 Highlight the passage at 1:10:23

1:10:36 Yeah, yeah. Give Report an error in the passage at 1:10:36 Highlight the passage at 1:10:36

1:10:40 her the talking stick. That's right. Just run back there. You'll be like on the game shows. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:40 Highlight the passage at 1:10:40

1:10:52 Chokyi, thank you so much. Just two months ago, I had that thing where, I don't know if you remember, but I asked you about... Well, I don't know if you made it the Report an error in the passage at 1:10:52 Highlight the passage at 1:10:52

1:11:00 How does it count with the anger? Because all day long I would not be angry. It wasn't directed at anyone, but I would come home and the minute I closed the door, I would just be like, and just feeling like, Godzilla, I'm going to destroy the city. And I've been doing this. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:00 Highlight the passage at 1:11:00

1:11:23 I don't have it. And what I was able to find out is, you know, all of a sudden I'd be like really getting just uptight. And by writing it down and saying, okay, I'm uptight, it forced me to look at, what did I get uptight? Because it gives you all those categories, right? The duration of it, the intensity of it on a scale to 1 to 10. It's like your Margaret Mead about your own clay shows. You know, you're just like, all of a sudden you're all clinical about it. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:23 Highlight the passage at 1:11:23

1:11:49 It starts out. It stops being, I'm a horrible, angry person. It starts being like, oh, let's look at the details of this clay show. Exactly. It kind of removes you a little bit. It got me to, that's what it did. It got me to the point where all of a sudden I was like, what, this is bothering me? And now, I mean, I'm just so much. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:49 Highlight the passage at 1:11:49

1:12:07 much less uptight about it so thank you so much it's an awesome This is actually a practice. It's a very simple practice and you can be creative with it. I can give you the basics that I know and you can... Pick and choose what works and then do one for a while and find out that you want to do something differently or whatever. But you can play with it over a lifetime. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:07 Highlight the passage at 1:12:07

1:12:43 I've been doing it for 10 years now. Even when I got the craziest with my work here as the director, I was down to like a one vow a day. But I kept it going. I never broke that. you know? Um, so. But it's better to do as an actual full day practice. But even just doing one vow a day, even just doing one non-virtue and one virtue a day, like killing, and thinking about it periodically through the day, can be so powerful. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:43 Highlight the passage at 1:12:43

1:13:14 Like you really start looking at your mind. And I think it's like a brilliant practice. And it basically comes down to once we reach the level of Tantra, there's a practice that's called Succession Guru Yoga, which is... What this is based on. We're supposed to be looking at our vows six times a day. We're supposed to be looking at our minds six times a day. So this is preparing you for that practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:14 Highlight the passage at 1:13:14

1:13:41 Anyway, anybody other than Eve at this point who's interested in it? Yeah? Okay, okay. So I'll plan six o 'clock and I'll mention it at refuge and see if other people in the refuge class are interested in it. I think it's a great practice and I think it's an easy practice. It's not something you have to have great understanding or... Report an error in the passage at 1:13:41 Highlight the passage at 1:13:41

1:14:00 intellectual knowledge to do it's something you all of us can do on some level and those of you that can't come because of work schedule or whatever if you're interested i can send you some notes on it so that you have something cheat sheet like with the water bowls Report an error in the passage at 1:14:00 Highlight the passage at 1:14:00

1:14:19 So I kind of combine the two in the way that I do it so that you have the... Looking at each klesha the way that we described and then also having the vows. So that's the way I set mine up so that I combine the two. But yeah, that's possible to do too. Self-evaluation method. It sounds kind of boring. The book. But that's what I like about it because I think so often we identify with our kleshas. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:19 Highlight the passage at 1:14:19

1:14:53 Like I am depressed. I am angry. I am... You know, jealous or whatever. And they're just things arising and falling away in our minds. And so like the more that you can kind of look at them as a part, it's like looking at a disease on your body. Like we don't necessarily think I'm a horrible person if I have a cut on my arm, right? Like it doesn't, we don't do the same trip around it. But with our minds, we somehow, I am this, you know, I am this, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:53 Highlight the passage at 1:14:53

1:15:23 Otherwise you say, I have headaches, but still. But I do, I mean, after having done this practice for a really long time, this is like the one that I found had the most immediate and quick results, like of any other practice. Because you're just, I mean, you're just working with your mind day in and day out. I mean, the Buddha's right. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:23 Highlight the passage at 1:15:23

1:15:48 Living in vows is another one. We started talking about this in the refuge class, after the refuge class, and we'll be talking about it more in the refuge class, preparing for the refuge ceremony. We started talking about just the idea of living in vows. For some of you, we've already started this discussion just talking about the way that vows actually are seen in Buddhism, it's almost like this very, very subtle, almost physical but not physical aura forms on you when you actually take these vows. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:48 Highlight the passage at 1:15:48

1:16:30 And they say that highly realized beings can look at you and they can see that you have these vows in your mind stream. And Lama Yeshe actually said that a lot of Westerners tend to think of vows as like something that limits. They're almost like a prison and they're really scared of taking vows, you know. And it's not at all like that. It's actually the complete opposite. Vows are actually one of the most powerful ways for us to get enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:30 Highlight the passage at 1:16:30

1:17:00 So it's actually, vows are almost like a way of life. It's actually a way of bringing mindfulness into our lives, which is what we were talking about on Tuesday night after class. And actually Chad and I were talking about it on the phone before. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:00 Highlight the passage at 1:17:00

1:17:19 But it brings mindfulness into every action of your life. So it's sort of like you take a vow for killing and suddenly you're aware of it all the time. When you see a bug or something, like you suddenly are thinking, well, wait a second, I've got to move this out of the way or I'm going to remember to check the... Report an error in the passage at 1:17:19 Highlight the passage at 1:17:19

1:17:37 Showers at Rajabani and at LMB in the lands of many bugs. You know, you come out of the city here, we just don't have to think of it. Maybe occasional spiders and stuff, but you just don't have so many down there. It's just like, there's tons and it's just always like, look first before you turn the water on, you know. So it just begins to actually permeate your mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:37 Highlight the passage at 1:17:37

1:18:00 Like you begin to actually have more mindfulness and they say actually that bringing mindfulness of course into our lives and how we act is also a step towards the kind of mindfulness that we need to develop in concentration meditation as well. It's not a different kind of mindfulness. They aren't unrelated and in fact ethical discipline is the basis upon which one develops concentration which is the basis upon which one develops wisdom. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:00 Highlight the passage at 1:18:00

1:18:29 Like we cannot get to the direct perception of emptiness without first becoming more moral, not harming, you know. So they're actually the way it's one of my teachers actually phrased it that these are the vows are actually helping us live like enlightened beings naturally live. That's just the way that Buddhas live. Like, they don't have to be reminded not to kill or steal or, you know, all these things. But for us, we start, you know, let's try these vows on, and then we lived for a couple of years with them, and so then we can try these, you know, and we kind of get braver. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:29 Highlight the passage at 1:18:29

1:19:11 We realize that actually our lives improve, so then we can take these, you know. But actually, the way that we live... Like somebody who is a fully ordained monk or nun and has bodhisattva vows and has tantric vows is living the way a Buddha already lives. Like we're just trying to, we're wearing our training wheels to try to get there. So vows are like our training wheels. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:11 Highlight the passage at 1:19:11

1:19:39 And one practice that's like living in life. Lifetime vows, but only for a day, are taking the eight Mahāyāna precepts, which are said to be incredibly powerful because it's such a short time period. You're just taking it from basically sunup to sunup, you know, right before sunup to sunup the following day. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:39 Highlight the passage at 1:19:39

1:20:05 You're keeping these vows like as purely as you can because it's only one day, right? So we can all get a little bit lazy, you know, with years and the vows. But for this one day, if you're only taking it for one day, you tend to keep it as purely as you can. You know, I guess it was very, very strict on a precept day. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:05 Highlight the passage at 1:20:05

1:20:24 We have to, like the minute noon comes, we have to be done. If you have, if you're like sticking it in your mouth, it's like, oh, okay, you have to just stop. You know, he's kind of like, you know. It's very, very strict. And actually Lama's opus is the same. Because you have one day to just be really, really pure. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:24 Highlight the passage at 1:20:24

1:20:43 And it's like this kind of instant retreat mind begins to take form. It's actually a really, really cool practice to do. And at Kopan, we actually do it for, I think, what, ten days or two weeks, something like that, at the end. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:43 Highlight the passage at 1:20:43

1:20:58 And so you live in it, you know, those, I think you take it every day though, right? At the end, yeah, at the end you take the vows again. So I guess at any point in that you could opt out. I guess they do it that way. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:58 Highlight the passage at 1:20:58

1:21:15 But yeah, they were actually created for lay kings, like high... Practitioners who didn't really want to leave the household of life, but they wanted to have the experience of living in the vows. So they did these eight Mahāyāna precepts to be able to live in the vows for a 24-hour period. Usually Geshe-la will offer them on the high holy days of the Buddhist calendar, which there are four in the Buddhist calendar. So there's not another one of those coming up until March. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:15 Highlight the passage at 1:21:15

1:21:45 But what I was thinking actually when I was planning this class is that I might ask Venerable Ninjay, who's coming up to lead a Medicine Buddha practice day on Sunday the 5th of November, if she'll offer the eight Mahāyāna precepts that day. Because it kind of is in keeping, it's a holy day. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:45 Highlight the passage at 1:21:45

1:22:03 And that's why she wanted to do it on that day. And we're already going to be doing practice all day, so I think she would probably go for it. So if people are interested, I'll let you guys know. I'll contact her and ask her if she'd be willing to do it. Because it's a nice experience to try out, and I think it's especially nice if you do it as a group. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:03 Highlight the passage at 1:22:03

1:22:21 And then once you receive it from somebody, you know, a Lama, then you can just give it to yourself at home. So any time that you had space, like if you're home for the weekend and you thought, I'd like to make Saturday like a special practice day, then that might be something you could do is get up, give yourself the eight Mahāyāna precepts, and then just kind of make this sacred space about that day. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:21 Highlight the passage at 1:22:21

1:22:47 Rejoicing is another really easy practice to do between sessions. We did that meditation actually during the karma class when everybody was starting to send me these long emails confessing every evil thing they'd ever done. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:47 Highlight the passage at 1:22:47

1:23:03 Because I began to realize something was missing. We were doing too much of regretting and not enough rejoicing. On a daily basis, it's really good to do both. And next week we're actually going to talk about purification practices, but it's really good every day. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:03 Highlight the passage at 1:23:03

1:23:20 To both look at the things that maybe you didn't do so great at, which this little Klesha chart is actually a really good way to keep track of it. Then it's like my regretting column is always like above. I regret all those things. But then also to think of at least as many things to rejoice. And they can be totally little things like started to get irritated at so-and-so and turned around and went back and cleared it up. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:20 Highlight the passage at 1:23:20

1:23:47 It can be something as simple as that. It can be just catching yourself when you're starting to do what you normally do and not doing it. It can be very simple. It could be just help so-and-so do ever, clean the kitchen or something. It doesn't have to be anything big. It's just something that's shifting the way you normally view reality or shifting a habit. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:47 Highlight the passage at 1:23:47

1:24:08 Lama Yeshe used to say that it was perfect. For people who have really, really busy lives, you can just come home from work, you make yourself a cup of coffee, you always said coffee too, make yourself a cup of coffee, you lean back and you just rejoice. You rejoice about all the good things you've done, you rejoice about all the things that people just in the world are doing, people who are volunteering on their volunteer time. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:08 Highlight the passage at 1:24:08

1:24:32 To like sit with people who are dying, you know, people who do jobs. I was just like, I was driving down Webster Street. I always look at the guys who were the firemen. I just think, I mean, that is like one job. I cannot in a thousand years imagine running into burning buildings, not just once because you love somebody in there, but to sign up to do it for life. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:32 Highlight the passage at 1:24:32

1:24:55 And it's usually like generations in the same family, you know, and you're just like, whoa. Totally rejoice. You can just lie there and you can just think of all these things and then think about all the things that our teachers do all the time. I mean, Lama Zopa Rinpoche is constantly coming up with ways to benefit people. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:55 Highlight the passage at 1:24:55

1:25:11 Just constantly. Like every time he comes up with these practices, it has nothing to do with Kirti Sancho Rinpoche. He doesn't need us to do like four billion soaks, you know, like getting up every morning and doing all this. He's always like, let's go, you know, make offerings at the stupa. And we all go prancing out there and it has nothing to do with him, you know, or nothing has to do, it's us making the merit, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:11 Highlight the passage at 1:25:11

1:25:33 So we can just rejoice in that, you know. Every idea that comes out of his holy mind is like to benefit others. His Holiness is the same. His Holiness day in and day out, just what He does for others is amazing. You just lie there and rejoice about His Holiness. And it's a really, really strong way to counter this mind of criticism. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:33 Highlight the passage at 1:25:33

1:25:54 Like if you find that that's a really big one for you, criticizing everybody in the room, you know, criticizing everybody that you see on your walk if you don't have your lamrim glasses on. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:54 Highlight the passage at 1:25:54

1:26:04 If you're a worrier, it's also a really good thing. Or that kind of mind that kind of is really happy when other people screw up or resentful. If any of those kind of minds are just kind of depressed, you just have a kind of depressed mind, this can counter all of those minds. It can be a really, really powerful way to just bring you a happy mind. And they say it's like one of the easiest ways to collect merit. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:04 Highlight the passage at 1:26:04

1:26:31 So it's actually a very, very powerful way for us to accumulate positive karma. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:31 Highlight the passage at 1:26:31

1:26:41 Another thing, and we're actually doing an entire class on this, is transforming problems. Because we have negative karma in our karma bank, right? So stuff is going to happen. It's definitely going to happen. But one, and this is actually, that's the class that I'm going to start in January. And there are a lot of teachings on it out there, and they're all incredibly powerful. I think it's one of the most powerful teachings that have come out of Tibetan Buddhism, especially. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:41 Highlight the passage at 1:26:41

1:27:09 It's called Lojang or mind training or thought transformation. Basically, you're not changing the problem, you're changing how you perceive the problem. But one of the most powerful aspects of it as far as we're concerned in this class is, and this is a good one, this is the one I said in the email to you, Peter, which you'll get tonight at midnight. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:09 Highlight the passage at 1:27:09

1:27:32 This is the kind of stuff that we need to think about. When we are practicing really, really hard, we're going to be getting stuff like stopped up ears that are causing a lot of pain. It's like stuff is going to happen when we are practicing really, really hard. And what we're trying to do is purify it all in this life. So it's going to come up in some form. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:32 Highlight the passage at 1:27:32

1:27:52 And so sometimes the best practitioners are dealing with one thing after another physically, and that's what's happening. They're simply burning it up in this life. so um um So one example of that is this friend of mine, Harry, who I think is a very highly realized being, but he manifests as this really normal guy from Maine, who worked in international office for a really long time. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:52 Highlight the passage at 1:27:52

1:28:15 Ravina often tells this story about Harry when he was hiking in Nepal and he almost fell off the cliff. Has anyone heard this story? And then he thought... He saw that these Sherpas were coming and he knew he was on the outer ridge and he thought to himself, if I should go over I won't hold on to them, I won't pull them down with me. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:15 Highlight the passage at 1:28:15

1:28:37 He actually had this bodhisattva thought. Do you remember this story? Anyway, he didn't. He did fall over. The weight of his pack started to pull him down. He felt it coming. He could actually see himself going all the way to the floor and smashing. All the Sherpas saw him. And then all of a sudden, it was like he was being pushed back onto the path again. He was being pushed. This has nothing to do with the story I'm telling now, but it's just to tell you what a wonderful guy he is. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:37 Highlight the passage at 1:28:37

1:29:06 He ended up right side up on the path, totally confused. All the Sherpas were confused. But then it gets even more interesting. Then there were other people at the same time who were at a talk with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Suddenly Lama Zopa Rinpoche pushed, and there was nothing for him to be pushing. And they figured it out later when they compared stories. So that was an interesting story. Anyway, I just saw Harry. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:06 Highlight the passage at 1:29:06

1:29:35 Talk about building faith, right? I just saw Harry, who's still manifesting as very ordinary being, now married to the director of the education department of the FPMT. So he's one of those people that is constantly having things go wrong in his life. And he always remembers. That is karma ripening. So it's sort of like he buys a car and it falls apart. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:35 Highlight the passage at 1:29:35

1:30:02 He's the one who will break his leg getting out of the van. Everybody else gets out of the van and runs into the teaching. He'll get out of the van and break his leg. Just whatever it is. But he always is kind of like, oh. He always kind of has this little look on his face. Like, oh, I know what this is. I know what's happening here. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:02 Highlight the passage at 1:30:02

1:29:59 You know, he, he, um, he come, you Report an error in the passage at 1:29:59 Highlight the passage at 1:29:59

1:30:21 Because he remembers, you know, he remembers if you're practicing really, really hard, stuff is going to happen. So, you know, there's this one friend of mine, or this one friend of a friend, actually, when she went to Tibet, she knew she wanted to bring it on in this life. And so her motto for that trip was like, bring it on. You know, I want to get it over with. Bring it on. Let me get rid of it now. And she actually did get very, very sick in Tibet. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:21 Highlight the passage at 1:30:21

1:30:49 And she was totally happy about it. She was just like, I just want to get rid of it in this lifetime. So you have to be aware that this is going to happen if your practice is strong, that positive things will happen, but some really difficult things are going to happen too, and it's part of the process of burning off that negative karma in a lesser form in this life. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:49 Highlight the passage at 1:30:49

1:31:14 you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:14 Highlight the passage at 1:31:14

1:31:18 So I was going to really quickly talk about the yoga of eating and the yoga of sleeping, but I think, well, maybe really quickly. It's like eight minutes, too. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:18 Highlight the passage at 1:31:18

1:31:33 Well, you can do it with everything. You can go into the other room and be careful with the long life. Those, of course, aren't just regular things. And actually, Catherine, you guys came late. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:33 Highlight the passage at 1:31:33

1:31:45 Eve, too. There are long life pills in the building, so you should get one before you go. I think she was going to leave them right there, so you should grab one before you leave. You're supposed to actually think, as I have this, they did a long life puja upstairs today, so that's where they're from. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:45 Highlight the passage at 1:31:45

1:31:59 But they're here. They're here in the building. She had them earlier. She came in and offered them to everybody, but you guys hadn't come yet. Yeah, but you should always be remembering you don't just want a long life for some mundane reason. You want it to... Yeah, you want it so that you can use it to practice. Anyway, the yoga of eating is, and there's a lot of different things to visualize, but this is just one possibility, one thing that you can do. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:59 Highlight the passage at 1:31:59

1:32:26 Whenever you eat, you can actually visualize your teacher or the Buddha, Shakyamuna Buddha, or you can imagine your future Buddha, the future Buddha that you will become at your heart. And then whenever you eat, you can bless the food by visualizing the symbols, syllables, Om Ahung. So you can actually see them just in English is fine. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:26 Highlight the passage at 1:32:26

1:32:51 You don't have to memorize what they look like in Tibetan. So you just visualize those syllables out in space above the food. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:51 Highlight the passage at 1:32:51

1:33:02 And then you recite Om Ahung three times. And as you're reciting it, then you send this light out. Into all directions to all the holy beings like the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. And then they receive it happily and they send it back to you with all of their enlightened qualities in it. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:02 Highlight the passage at 1:33:02

1:33:21 You don't have to. This is just one thing that you can do. I see Ricardo's eyes panicking. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:21 Highlight the passage at 1:33:21

1:33:29 You didn't get a part of the light from the letter to sign back? Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:29 Highlight the passage at 1:33:29

1:33:43 That ocean is going to fall right off. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:43 Highlight the passage at 1:33:43

1:33:49 We were talking about the causes on Tuesday night for all of the signs and marks of the Buddha's body. There are a lot of interesting qualities of the Buddha's body that we didn't realize until that night. One of them didn't know that one either, so I was telling him that one in the kitchen. This is the ushnisha. The little thing that's on the top of the Buddhist head is called an ushnisha. It actually spins clockwise all the time. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:49 Highlight the passage at 1:33:49

1:34:17 Yeah, that was pretty much our reaction. Yeah, that's exactly what Peter said. Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:34:17 Highlight the passage at 1:34:17

1:34:28 that's true. Because now you can bring it into your visualization. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:28 Highlight the passage at 1:34:28

1:34:35 forgot the day in the jeans. think I'm not. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:35 Highlight the passage at 1:34:35

1:34:45 Oh God, there's going to be a special little place in Ushnesha hell for you. You'll be squeezing lemons for all of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:45 Highlight the passage at 1:34:45

1:34:59 Yeah, so the light rays are coming out of the Omahung that you see in space and they're collecting all the enlightened, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are receiving them happily. Just like with the water bowls, you know, they're receiving, you have to see them receiving. don't know. I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:59 Highlight the passage at 1:34:59

1:35:16 Then they're sending them back to you. All those light rays are coming back to you, and it's going into your food. You get used to this one. Now, it's like at the beginning, you're just like, oh my God. And then you just sort of get used to it. This out-in thing comes up a lot in Tibetan Buddhism. You get this one a lot. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:16 Highlight the passage at 1:35:16

1:35:34 Sending out those light rays, bringing it back into your food. And it actually then transforms the food. It purifies the food and transforms it into blissful nectar. So then when you take your first bite, Or your first bite, if you have it on a fork. You taste it and then just imagine that it's this blissful nectar and you can actually visualize that you're feeding your own enlightenment and that this nectar is now going down. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:34 Highlight the passage at 1:35:34

1:36:04 Imagine it trickling down and making an offering to the Buddha or teacher at your heart. And then imagine them receiving it with bliss. There's a lot of bliss in Buddhism too. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:04 Highlight the passage at 1:36:04

1:36:20 Which is not a bad thing to learn to cultivate. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:20 Highlight the passage at 1:36:20

1:36:29 Yeah, so, and it is one of the refuge commitments to actually remember to offer up the food. So there are, this is like sort of a, I gave you on Tuesday night like sort of a more simplified version and that's fine too. Just offering it, you know, thinking of the food itself transforming, going out to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, them receiving it with bliss and sending it back to you completely blessed and then you eat it. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:29 Highlight the passage at 1:36:29

1:36:53 That's also a simple version of that too. And you can do all of that in an instant if you're doing a business lunch. And of course then you get this blissful expression on your face. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:53 Highlight the passage at 1:36:53

1:37:06 And you're like, Tim, what were you going to say about the... You're like, wait a second. The yoga of sleeping is... This is one actually that Karen was doing on the practice day. She was talking about this one. so... Shoo, shoo, Report an error in the passage at 1:37:06 Highlight the passage at 1:37:06

1:37:23 Basically the way that Shakyamuna Buddha passed away was on his right side with his hand under his right cheek. There's actually a more complicated version, but that's enough. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:23 Highlight the passage at 1:37:23

1:37:36 This one where you actually are closing a certain wind and all that stuff. But just to be lying like that, and then even if you can't go to sleep that way, to just start that way. That's okay. Actually, you begin to train yourself so that really the only way you can sleep is on your right side. And then you can actually think to yourself something like, you know, may I pass away from all sorrow like the Buddha did or, you know, something to that effect. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:36 Highlight the passage at 1:37:36

1:38:06 And or you can imagine yourself lying with your head in the lap of your teacher or the Buddha. Which is a really comforting one if you're really sad, going through a lot of sad stuff. That's a good one, but it's also just a good way to go to sleep. And just, you know, to cultivate that wish not to be separated from the Buddha or the teachings or your teacher. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:06 Highlight the passage at 1:38:06

1:38:28 And then when you wake up, you remember that you're in the lap of the Buddha. It's also really good to remember the fact that you didn't die, which Rubina is always very strong in saying we just take for granted. But a lot of people did last night, you know, so there's no assurance to remember that and to actually feel joy that, oh my gosh, I have this great day. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:28 Highlight the passage at 1:38:28

1:38:53 I can just do anything with this day. I can help a lot of people. I can use this day for my practice. Even if you do no other practice in the world, but you do that much of remembering, you know, what a great opportunity you have and that you didn't die, that's a huge... That's a huge motivator. And you leap out of bed, as Rabina would say, and then you go do your water bowls and you do your practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:53 Highlight the passage at 1:38:53

1:39:21 Actually, you can also, before you get up, while you're lying there and you wake up and you remember you've got your head in the lap of the Buddha and you remember that you didn't die and you remember what a great opportunity you have, you can imagine the Buddha melting into light and actually absorbing into your heart at that point. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:21 Highlight the passage at 1:39:21

1:39:40 Or on the top of your head, if you want that. Yeah, you can keep the Buddha or your teacher in either your heart or on the top of your head as you go through your day. Somehow having him in your heart makes more sense to me, but I want to be able to do those lemon juice too. And that's the cause for Nushanesha is actually visualizing your guru at the top of your head. So that's it. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:40 Highlight the passage at 1:39:40

1:40:09 So again, it's going to be the same meditation. Just keep working with it. And then the fourth and sixth binder readings. And we can end with some prayers and try to get Eve out of here so she can make her 9.30 bus. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:09 Highlight the passage at 1:40:09

1:40:30 You're going to make it then because you resigned yourself. You'll actually make it. The Report an error in the passage at 1:40:30 Highlight the passage at 1:40:30

1:40:43 class is done. It's actually done and it's on time. But we could process it if you'd like. No, I'm kidding. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:43 Highlight the passage at 1:40:43

1:40:56 So we're just going to end with dedicating this class to each one of us being able to remember some of these and put them into practice more and more, making our post-meditation time as powerful as our meditation time. More powerful, because there's more of it. Using every minute of our day to transform our minds. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:56 Highlight the passage at 1:40:56

1:41:27 So that we can actually become Buddhas. We can actually awaken our minds completely, develop them completely, reach our total potential and be able to benefit all beings perfectly. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:27 Highlight the passage at 1:41:27

1:41:46 Do the dedication prayers. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:46 Highlight the passage at 1:41:46

1:41:56 So it's page 5 and 15. We'll do them in English, the first two on page 5 and then you can read the transliteration of the Tibetan on page 4. And then we'll do the one on page 15 for His Holiness and then that transliteration right across from it too. Due to the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:56 Highlight the passage at 1:41:56

1:42:30 May the supreme jewel bodhicitta that has not arisen arise and grow and may that which has arisen not diminish but increase more and more. Kewa-di-nu Report an error in the passage at 1:42:30 Highlight the passage at 1:42:30

1:43:04 Satsang Mooji Report an error in the passage at 1:43:04 Highlight the passage at 1:43:04

1:43:26 Lama Tsongkhapa, Report an error in the passage at 1:43:26 Highlight the passage at 1:43:26

1:43:35 Shantideva, His Holiness the Dalai Lama Poshay, ma ke panam ke kyu. Kye pam nam pa me pa yang ne gong du pel war shol In the land encircled by snow mountains, you are the source of all happiness and good. All-powerful Chenrese, Tenzin Gyaso, please remain until saṃsāra ends. Gangri-ra-we-kor-we-shin-kam-dir Pendang-de-wa-malu-shung-we-ne-re-zik-wan-ten-sen-gyat-so-yi-pe-si-de-bar-du-ten-gyur-chi Report an error in the passage at 1:43:35 Highlight the passage at 1:43:35

1:44:37 So if anybody could stay and help me take down the bowls, that would be great. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:37 Highlight the passage at 1:44:37

1:44:53 No, no, no, you should go. Can anybody give Eve a ride? You Report an error in the passage at 1:44:53 Highlight the passage at 1:44:53

1:45:01 should go. You should go. It's 9.06 by my... This one might be slow, actually. We did water bowl training before class. Six o 'clock. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:01 Highlight the passage at 1:45:01

1:45:19 Destroying. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:19 Highlight the passage at 1:45:19

1:45:24 No. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:24 Highlight the passage at 1:45:24